


A Lost Sandal

by ms_josephine



Series: Getting My Groove Back. 30 Day One Word Destiel Prompts Challenge [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Day At The Beach, Dean Winchester's Freckles, Flustered Dean Winchester, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Lifeguard Castiel (Supernatural), M/M, One Shot, POV Sam Winchester, Past Castiel/Dean Winchester, Sam loses his shoe, Teenage Sam Winchester, clueless Sam Winchester, mentions of foster care, rekindled feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 08:30:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18362348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ms_josephine/pseuds/ms_josephine
Summary: After a fun day at the beach, Sam is missing his sandal.





	A Lost Sandal

**Author's Note:**

> Day 5- Sandal

The beach vacation had been Sam’s idea. Ever since their dad died in a car accident 4 months ago, they hadn’t done anything much different than they had when he was alive. They still moved around a lot. Dean still hustled pool and ran credit card scams to pay for their many motel rooms, new clothes for his ever-growing brother, and the large amounts of food that brother required. In fact, one of the longest times Sam could remember staying in any one place were the 2 months following his father’s death. The only reason for that being that Dean had to get temporary work at a garage to pay for repairs to the car after the crash.

Of course, they both mourned John Winchester’s death; he was their father after all. If they were being completely honest though, it was a bit of a relief. After their mother’s death, John had slowly spiraled. He would rant and rave about demons and monsters. When Sam was in Kindergarten, he broke down into tears one day telling his teacher he was afraid the monsters would eat his daddy too. A social worker had been called. It ended up with the boys being removed from their father’s care and placed into separate foster homes. 

Sam doesn’t remember much from those 7 months, but he does remember crying often and missing his brother terribly. He only got to see Dean and his father once a month. His foster mother Missouri was a nice woman, but Sam wanted to go home. Eventually, John convinced the courts that he was stable enough and Sam and Dean were able to go home. For a year, they had frequent visits from a social worker. John cooked dinner every night and didn’t tell them bedtime stories about demons. They went to school, had friends, and joined little league. But when the court mandated visits stopped, John immediately packed them up and moved them away. 

From then on, they rarely stayed anywhere for more than a few weeks. Sometimes a month if they got lucky. John didn’t talk about monsters much, but he did start to drink. He would disappear for a few days and come back either covered in bruises or with large amounts of cash. The bulk of parenting responsibilities shifted to Dean. He would feed Sam, help him with homework, walk him to school. He never complained much. He remembered better than Sam how it felt to be taken away from each other and he was determined not to let that happen again. Of course, Sam still saw how it weighed on him. He used to attempt to make new friends or date any time they switched schools until he was around 16 or so. After that, he stopped trying. He didn’t laugh as much either. He did whatever John asked him to and still looked after Sam, but he was never really happy. 

That was why Sam insisted on a vacation. John was gone. Dean could get a real job and they could actually have a permanent address. But first, they needed some fun. Sam suggested they revisit a beach community near Corpus Christi that he had fond memories of, but Dean refused. He gave zero explanation other than that he just didn’t want to go. It took a full week of puppy eyes from Sam before he finally caved. That’s how they found themselves on the beach 2 weeks later. Sam had finished his Sophomore year of high school and they had the rest of the summer to figure out what their next move was. They spent the day having fun. They raced each other through the surf, swam in the ocean, combed the beach for shells. Dean fished from the shore and grilled them up fresh seatrout on the camp stove in the afternoon. Just before sunset, they called it a day. They packed up their gear and headed back to the car. As Dean loaded the trunk, Sam stood shaking the extra sand out of his clothes before he realized something was missing. 

“Dean?” Sam called as he looked through his things.

“Yea?” came Dean’s muffled voice from the back of the car.

“Have you seen my other sandal?”

“What?”

“My other sandal. I only have one here.”

Dean lifted his head up. “Nope. I didn’t grab it. Thought you said you had everything.”

Sam scoffed, “I did Dean. I swear I grabbed them both.”

Dean closed the trunk and walked over to Sam. He noticed his brother was a bit sunburned and had somehow developed more freckles throughout the day. “Alright, you probably dropped it on the way back. Come on, let’s go check before it gets dark.”

They slowly made their way back to the spot they had occupied on the beach while looking for the lost sandal. It still hadn’t been found by the time they got there and Sam was a bit dejected. He really liked that pair.

After a few minutes of searching, they were about to call it quits when a voice got their attention. “Excuse me!” They turned to see a guy jogging towards them. He had dark hair and wore a lifeguard’s uniform. As he got closer, Sam heard Dean gasp. Before he could ask why, the lifeguard caught up to them. He held up Sam’s missing sandal. “Is this yours? I just picked it up and was heading to lost and found when I saw you.”

Beside him, his brother let out a quiet, “Cas?”

The other man turned to look at Dean. Sam watched recognition flash through his eyes before a huge grin lit up his face. “Dean! Wow, it’s great to see you.”

Dean gave him a soft smile. Was he blushing? No, that had to be sunburn. “It’s good to see you too.”

“What are you doing here?” Cas asked. He wore an expression of disbelief and… fondness? Who was this guy?

“Uh, me and Sammy decided to take a vacation. Summer break and all that.” Dean chewed his lip before he seemed to remember Sam. “Oh! This is Sammy. Sam, this is Cas. We, uh, we went to school together when we came through town that time.”

Sam held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you Cas.”

Cas shook his hand. “It’s nice to meet you too Sam. I heard a lot about you from Dean. Your brother loves you very much.” His eyed flicked to Dean and he gave him a sad smile.

“Don’t believe everything Dean says. So, you guys were friends?”

Still watching Dean, Cas answered. “You could say that.”

Sam watched Dean. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck and was he that badly sunburned or was he actually blushing now? “Yea. Somethin’ like that.”

Cas turned to look at Sam. “How long are you staying in town?”

Sam opened his mouth to answer before Dean cut him off. “Actually, we’re thinking about moving here.” Sam whipped him head around to stare at his brother. “Sam’s got 2 more years till he graduates. I remember ours being a pretty good school.”

Cas’s smile grew bigger. “Yes, I had some fond memories from there.” His smile fell a bit. “What about your father? I remember him not wanting to settle down.”

Dean’s eyes dropped to the sand and he shifted his weight. “Dad… he uh, he died a couple a months back. It’s just me and Sammy now.”

Cas’s face fell and reached out to grab Dean’s arm before pulling him into a hug. “I’m so sorry Dean.”

Dean sagged against the other boy. His whole body seemed to sigh in relief. Sam didn’t think he had ever seen his brother this relaxed. He pulled back after a moment and blinked away a few unshed tears. “Thanks Cas.” They sat there staring into each other’s eyes. Sam got uncomfortable after a moment. What was the deal with these two? He cleared his throat a bit and the older boys seemed to snap out of it. Dean nodded to himself before continuing. “So, yea. Figured it was time to settle down. Let Sammy finish school properly. Maybe I could get a real job for a change.”

Sam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Just yesterday Dean was talking about what town they’d try next and now he wanted to stay? Who was this guy? They must have been really good friends. But why had Dean never mentioned him? Cas smirked, “You know Dean, I know the guard station is hiring. We always need more people during the summer.”

Dean brightened. “Yea? Hmm that sounds like a good idea Cas. You mind giving me your number? You know so I can call about the job. And ya know, maybe we could hang out sometime. Catch up.” He cast a nervous glance at Sam. Why was he acting so squirrely? Did he think Sam wouldn’t want him to spend time with a friend?

Cas chuckled. “Of course Dean. I would love it if we could rekindle our friendship.” His eyes twinkled in amusement before he reached out his hand. “May I have your phone? Mine is at the station.” Dean quickly grabbed his phone from his pocket and all but thrust it into Cas’s hand. Cas pursed his lips in amusement as he sent himself a text. He handed the phone back and gave Dean another smile. “Thank you. I hope to hear from you soon Dean.”

Dean grinned back. “You definitely will.”

Cas turned to Sam. “It was nice to meet you Sam.”

Sam held up his hand in a little wave. “It was nice to meet you too Cas.”

With another smile and a wave, Cas turned and walked back along the beach. Dean watched him for a moment before turning back to the car. He stared at the clouds and kept laughing under his breath. “Dean? Who was that, really?”

“I’ll tell you all about it later. Right now, we need to go find some grub.”

Sam asked in a hopeful voice, “Are we really staying?”

“I think we will Sammy. I think we’ve done enough traveling don’t you?” Dean whistled all the way back to the car.

**Author's Note:**

> Every Kudos gives Dean a new freckle!


End file.
